Music Supervision for Film, Television & Documentary
Grammy-nominated music supervision that treats music as story first and a rights problem second, and solves for both.
Barry Cole has supervised music for film, television and documentary for three decades, from independent features to studio productions. The work spans creative selection, licensing, clearance, budgeting and delivery, with particular depth in music-driven and archival projects where rights complexity shapes what is creatively possible.
Creative Music Strategy
Music selection, narrative integration and research in close collaboration with directors, producers and editors. The goal is never a playlist. It is music that carries character, memory and momentum inside the cut.
Music Budgeting
Early assessment of music needs, rights exposure and realistic budget ranges, before commitments are made. A number on a spreadsheet is not a music budget; a plan that gets the film finished is.
Licensing & Clearance
Research, rights-holder outreach, negotiation, approvals and documentation across master and publishing rights. Clean paper, on time, with no surprises in delivery.
Composer & Score Coordination
Where projects blend licensed music and original score, coordination across composer, editorial and delivery so the two serve the story as one system.
Documentary Expertise
Special emphasis on archival music, legacy artists, estates, historical recordings and the layered rights complexity documentaries carry. This is where experience saves productions real money and real time.
Work that speaks in titles.
The Chi. American Psycho. Notorious. Brown Sugar. Rustin. Field Generals: History of the Black Quarterback. Alive Inside.
Discuss a Music Supervision Project
Whether the project is in development or already in the edit, the right time to talk about music is now.